By Glenn J. Downing, MBA, CFP®
Last year (2019) I watched the entire Upstairs Downstairs series on Britbox. Easily sixty episodes in all. My viewing interests are usually limited to either WWII or British crime stories, so this was a bit of a departure for me, and one I thoroughly enjoyed. As...
by Jonathan G. Cameron, CFP®
When I originally wrote this, the Carolinas were experiencing the worst of Hurricane Florence. As a native Floridian I've ridden out half a dozen hurricanes myself . The aftermath of a hurricane is not only about the damage to life and property, but for...
by Jonathan G. Cameron, CFP®
A few months ago I heard Susan Bradley from the Sudden Money® Institute say something quite profound regarding our relationship with money and financial windfalls:
When life changes, money changes.
When money changes, life changes.
The order in which...
By Glenn J. Downing, MBA, CFP®
Usually when we think of estate planning we have in mind the orderly transition of assets at death. Death is something that you have a 100% chance of experiencing – we just don’t know when. Tomorrow isn’t promised to us – and neither is...
By Glenn J. Downing, MBA, CFP®
Should I Pay my Mortgage Off Early? This is actually a FAQ – a frequently asked question, so I thought I’d spend a little time on it here. Some other mortgage-related topics we’ve addressed are these:
By Glenn J. Downing, MBA, CFP®
529 College Savings accounts just got better!
A 529 college savings account is one in which money is invested for a beneficiary’s future college expenses. The account grows without taxation, and funds are eventually distributed with...
by Jonathan G. Cameron, CFP®
Here is something we hear on occasion at CameronDowning: “I’m not sure an IRA is for me. I hear it may be too risky.” The problem with this statement is that an IRA, or Individual Retirement Account, is not an investment. So what is an IRA?
An...
by Jonathan G. Cameron, CFP®
Your emergency fund is foundational to any financial planning. Here I discuss what it is (and what it is not), why you need to have one, and how much should be in it.
At the Margin
An economics professor once said that if you fall asleep in class and...
by Glenn J. Downing, MBA, CFP®
From time to time I’m asked, Glenn: there are plenty of financial guys out there. They’ll do financial planning for free. So why should I pay you guys?
Good question, and not unexpected in these days of free resources online. To answer it, let...
by Glenn J. Downing, MBA, CFP®
Why do financial planning?
Short answer: because no one can hit a moving target. The financial plan informs all financial decisions: how to invest, what to save and where, and what insurance should I purchase or drop.
What should I expect when I come in to see...
by Glenn J. Downing, MBA, CFP®
Do you have a Flexible Spending Account available to you through work? These can offer tremendous tax savings. As you do your research, note that FSAs are of two sorts: The Healthcare FSA and the Dependent Care FSA.
Flexible...
by Glenn J. Downing, MBA, CFP®
In this post I’d like to give a little history and background on the advice industry. It may not grab you right off as being the most compelling reading, but please stick with it. I have some valuable points to develop. In Part II I go into some of...
